into the wild
i saw a brilliant movie the other day. while my carpet was being installed, jake and i watched "into the wild." it was captivating. it was beautiful. it hurt to watch. i was mesmerized by the story, the story of Christopher McCandless. I remember having heard of him one night, in the late 90s. it was during an episode of 60 minutes that i first caught a glimpse of his story. he was 24 years-old when he died. he spent the first 22 years of his life the way his parent's had wanted him to live, until he graduated from Emory. at that point he took the balance of his college fund and signed it away to charity. he got into his datsun and began to drive. it was as if he was running from his controlling, abusive, demanding parents. but really, he was just a 22 year-old, in love with the idea of surviving outside the realms of society, against the rules and confines of money, labels, and material possessions. full of the sense of idealism so many of us feel at that age. he felt that he needed to get outside in order to really understand where he was from. he needed to go "there" and be with just his thoughts to reflect, to redefine himself, and in turn to learn how to live again.
he was so driven to make it to alaska, to be among the truly untamed, cruel beauty--away from all personal connection to understand what it was to be human. his journey was painful and inspiring. he was reborn on the path to alaska. he spent time 'supertramping' through arizona, south dakota, mexico, and california-- unwittingly touching lives without fully embracing or commiting to any one. he just wanted to be where there was no one. just him--a few comforts, and novels by the greats to engage his mind.
i rarely cry in films, but the richness of the story and the scenic beauty took my breath away. i knew how it ended, but all the while i hoped that he'd find the peace he so dearly craved. chistopher mccandless's story is not inspiring in the way that the hollywood campy film machine tries to instill, it's inspiring in the idea that a person can run away, give everything up, and realize the one true significance of life involves the fulfillment attained through relating with the characters cast in our own story. through this relating, finding within oneself the tenacity of forgiveness, attachment, acceptance, and ultimately love.
sean penn wrote, produced and directed the film. he respected the vision of christopher mccandless--the mccandless family, those mccandless met through his journey, and the author of the novel "into thin air," from which the screenplay was adapted, written by john krakauer.
this film opened my mind to the idea the answers lie within the things we try to avoid. we can run from everything we know, yet still feel trapped by our memories and sorrow left in their wake. that paving a path, with an attempt to escape connections through survival on one's own can make a person realize that all he needs is to be close again.
truly life affirming.
please, see this movie. http://www.intothewild.com/